Generation of coherent tunable VUV radiation near the Ly-β transition of atomic hydrogen

Abstract

Third-harmonic conversion of light from a frequency-tuned XeCl laser is used to generate coherent vacuum-ultraviolet radiation that is tunable from 102.55 to 102.83 nm, a range that includes the Ly-β transition of atomic hydrogen at 102.57 nm. The use of this radiation for the detection of neutral hydrogen atoms by resonance fluorescence is discussed.